While many Vietnamese manufacturers have been relying on the EU as the main export market, other businesses have been trying to diversify the export markets, for fear that the serious public debt crisis and the bad performance of the EU’s economies would badly affect their exports.

Garmex Saigon, a garment company, has been known as an export-oriented company. However, the company’s board of directors has decided that the company would also focus on developing the domestic market. The new strategy, a long term one, was kicked off in August 2011.

Garmex Saigon plans to cooperate with a domestic garment company to make the products which bear the brand of the company or of Garmex Saigon, which will be distributed on the domestic market through the existing retail network of the partner company.

The decision has been made after Garmex found some bad signs from the EU, always considered the biggest market which consumes 80 percent of Garmex’s production capacity.

According to Le Quang Hung, Chair of Garmex, he can see some bad signs in the export to the EU. Some European partners still accept to import the products they ordered before, but have asked for the delays in deliveries for 2-3 months, accepting to pay additional storage fees.

Also, Hung said, a loyal client of Garmex has placed orders for April and May of 2012 as usual, but the orders are smaller than usual.

“The volume of products ordered for the next spring and summer is smaller than this year. Meanwhile, the demand for the autumn and winter remains unclear,” Hung said.

Garmex’s main products for the export to the EU are sportswear that serves the mountain climbing and skiing. Meanwhile, the unfavorable weather has led to the low demand for the sportswear. Besides, the public debt crisis which has forced consumers to fasten their belt has also been cited as the reason behind the decreasing demand. In Europe now, there is a tendency, though it is still not clear, that consumers re-use the sportswear for skiing for one more year.

Unlike Garmex, which has focused on developing the domestic market, but foreseeing that the EU market is not bright, the Hoang Mai Group, which specializes in making fine art products for export, have been eyeing the US and Asian markets instead of relying on the EU market.

Chair of the Hoang Mai Group, Tran Xuan Mai, said at a recent business conference held in HCM City that the company has had some new designs reserved for new markets, including Hong Kong, and that the group has got the orders which ensure enough jobs for workers until the end of the year.

Vu Dinh Hai, Deputy General Director of the Dong Nai Garment Company (Donagamex), has also said that European importers now still have big inventory volumes since the demand has decreased, therefore, they do not place big orders, while setting up lower prices.

However, Hai said that it is lucky enough for his company that since the beginning of the year, the company has been focusing on making products for the export to Japan after realizing that the export market accepts higher prices. In 2010, the European market consumed 30-35 percent of Donagamex’s exports, while the number has dropped to 15 percent.

“We have small orders for making products for the European market in October. After that, we will gather strength on making products for the Japanese market,” Hai said.

Deputy Director of the European Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Tran Ngoc Quan, has confirmed that a series of European economies have fallen into the public debt crisis, and the euro has depreciated.

However, Quan said he still cannot see big changes with the market, because European countries are still making efforts to settle debts. Vietnam’s exports to the EU still have seen the high growth rates of 30-50 percent in comparison with the same period of the last year.

In January 2011, the government agreed the plan to make privatization for EVNTelecom whereby EVNTelecom will sell a part of state holding to strategic investor and offer preferential shares to the employees. Of which, EVN will hold 50.6% stake, 0.4% stake will be held by the employees and 49% stake for FPT Co and FPT Telecom Joint Stock Co (FPT Telecom).

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has become one of the most successful investors in this neighbouring country with the total investment capital of US$1 billion in such areas as rubber, sugar cane, mining and hydropower industries.

The State Securities Commission (SSC) would check DVD auditing files in Ernst &amp; Young in late September, according to SSC&rsquo;s vice chairwoman Vu Thi Kim Lien. The Accounting and Auditing Department and Vietnam Association of Certificated Public Accountants also join the inspection. A&amp;C Auditing &amp; Consulting, which audit the DVD&rsquo;s 2008 financial statement, would be checked as well.

The investment capital of Vietnamese investors exceeded $10.7 billion and chartered capital of Vietnamese investors also reached approximately $10 billion. They mainly invested in mining sector with about $17 billion, of which, Vietnamese investors poured over $4.3 billion and chartered capital of over $3.7 billion.

The Vietnamese insurance market is being competed by both domestic and international insurers and is hurt by economic challenges. Hence, insurers are forecast to face difficulties in funds and premiums. Optimistically, insurers reported revenues growth of 10-15 percent in the first eight months.

The government&rsquo;s Resolution 11 released early this year is a timely response to the double-digit inflation, draining forex reserves and a devaluating local currency, said Tomoyuki Kimura, ADB&rsquo;s country director in Vietnam.

In a workshop with the World Bank in June, the council&rsquo;s vice chairman, Le Xuan Nghia, said that bad debts were a major concern because a large part of banks&rsquo; capital had been lent to inefficient State-run enterprises.

The report was launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Ha Noi yesterday. Bank country director for Viet Nam Tomoyuki Kimura said being faced with double-digit inflation, dwindling foreign reserves and a weakening currency, the Government&rsquo;s Resolution 11, adopted in February this year, was a comprehensive policy package of fiscal and monetary tightening measures to curb inflation. Progress has been made but year-on-year inflation remained at more than 20 per cent, Kimura.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director and head of research of the Hochiminh City Securities Co. (HSC), told a meeting with investors last Friday that 2012 inflation would be around 10 percent or so, as money supply has been choked off and the pressure on price increase has abated. The global growth is slowing down so there is no much pressure on prices, and furthermore, the credit growth and money supply growth have come down substantially this year, he said.

According to the representative of state-run enterprises, the bad debts of some banks are still higher than the average level of the entire banking system, of which, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank)&rsquo;s bad debt is 6.67% and Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank-VCB)&rsquo;s bad debt is 3.47%. Notably, Agribank still posted low capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

In a workshop with the World Bank in June, the council&rsquo;s vice chairman, Le Xuan Nghia, said that bad debts were a major concern because a large part of banks&rsquo; capital had been lent to inefficient State-run enterprises.

The report was launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Ha Noi yesterday. Bank country director for Viet Nam Tomoyuki Kimura said being faced with double-digit inflation, dwindling foreign reserves and a weakening currency, the Government&rsquo;s Resolution 11, adopted in February this year, was a comprehensive policy package of fiscal and monetary tightening measures to curb inflation. Progress has been made but year-on-year inflation remained at more than 20 per cent, Kimura.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director and head of research of the Hochiminh City Securities Co. (HSC), told a meeting with investors last Friday that 2012 inflation would be around 10 percent or so, as money supply has been choked off and the pressure on price increase has abated. The global growth is slowing down so there is no much pressure on prices, and furthermore, the credit growth and money supply growth have come down substantially this year, he said.

According to the representative of state-run enterprises, the bad debts of some banks are still higher than the average level of the entire banking system, of which, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank)&rsquo;s bad debt is 6.67% and Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank-VCB)&rsquo;s bad debt is 3.47%. Notably, Agribank still posted low capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

According to the Hanoi People&rsquo;s Committee, the city is calling on businesses to invest in high-quality services, financial centres, banking, trade, the electronic industry and information technology.

Vietnam&rsquo;s consumer price index (CPI) for August was up only 0.93 per cent on-month, the lowest rise this year. August was also the first month the CPI rose under 1 per cent, signaling a slowdown in price rises as tightening monetary policies begin to bite.

The agency forecasts there would be about $10 billion of overseas remittances to be transferred to the country by overseas laborers in 2011-2015. Though the total amount of money sent home by Vietnamese workers are still small compared to that in some other countries which is even higher than the foreign direct investment (FDI) capital, international aids and higher than the export turnover of some key items, it has help significantly improve the poverty and promote investments, said the department&rsquo;s spokesperson.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said there were an additional 333 new projects that have been started and cost the state budget a total 344 billion dong. The ministry thus suggested suspending certain public works that are being carried out by central government agencies to recover VND337.6 billion for the budget.

Saigon Jewellery Company, the biggest gold shop in Vietnam, bought gold at VND47.800 million and sold at VND48.100 million at 9:17 am local time in Ho Chi Minh City on September 2. Hanoi-based Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewellery Company purchased SJC-branded gold at VND47.7 million and sold at VND48.45 million at the same time.

In 2011, the country attracted $14.7 billion in FDI, equal to 74 per cent of 2010. Over $11.5 billion came from 1,091 newly-licensed projects while the rest was from 374 existing projects that increased their capital.

In January 2011, the government agreed the plan to make privatization for EVNTelecom whereby EVNTelecom will sell a part of state holding to strategic investor and offer preferential shares to the employees. Of which, EVN will hold 50.6% stake, 0.4% stake will be held by the employees and 49% stake for FPT Co and FPT Telecom Joint Stock Co (FPT Telecom).

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has become one of the most successful investors in this neighbouring country with the total investment capital of US$1 billion in such areas as rubber, sugar cane, mining and hydropower industries.

The State Securities Commission (SSC) would check DVD auditing files in Ernst &amp; Young in late September, according to SSC&rsquo;s vice chairwoman Vu Thi Kim Lien. The Accounting and Auditing Department and Vietnam Association of Certificated Public Accountants also join the inspection. A&amp;C Auditing &amp; Consulting, which audit the DVD&rsquo;s 2008 financial statement, would be checked as well.

The investment capital of Vietnamese investors exceeded $10.7 billion and chartered capital of Vietnamese investors also reached approximately $10 billion. They mainly invested in mining sector with about $17 billion, of which, Vietnamese investors poured over $4.3 billion and chartered capital of over $3.7 billion.

The Vietnamese insurance market is being competed by both domestic and international insurers and is hurt by economic challenges. Hence, insurers are forecast to face difficulties in funds and premiums. Optimistically, insurers reported revenues growth of 10-15 percent in the first eight months.

The government&rsquo;s Resolution 11 released early this year is a timely response to the double-digit inflation, draining forex reserves and a devaluating local currency, said Tomoyuki Kimura, ADB&rsquo;s country director in Vietnam.

At an earlier working session between the two ministries, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to hike import tariffs on NPK fertiliser from the current 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent; delay imposition of a 3-per-cent export tax on steel ingots and finished steel; and slash the export tax on coal from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.

A recent VASEP conference pointed out that if Vietnam failed to pursue the lawsuit, it could lose the US market to other big exporters like India and Thailand who had won a similar suit, Thanh Nien newspaper said.

In its Asian Development Outlook 2011 Update (ADO Update), the ADB said Resolution 11, a comprehensive policy package, has made good initial progress by helping the exchange rate to stabilise, allowing foreign reserves to be replenished, and lowering monthly inflation outcomes during June &ndash; August.

&ldquo;VietinBank has made a good choice of advisers,&rdquo; said Alan Pham, chief economist at VinaCapital Investment Management Ltd. HSBC has a depth of expertise and wide distribution network globally that will help get the Hanoi-based bank a &ldquo;good rate,&rdquo; he said.

Last week, the central bank decided to increase the reserve requirement ratio by 1 per cent to 8 per cent for foreign currency deposits less than 12 months and to 6 per cent for foreign currency deposits over 12 months.

The Vietnamese authorities deserve our applause for facing up to tough economic issues. Today&rsquo;s rate hike was just another step in the long battle against inflation. Although the policy stance has clearly shifted from boosting growth to improving economic stability since February, the data flow remains challenging.

According to IMF&rsquo;s regional economic outlook, Vietnam has overcome the global crisis thanks to the substantial financial stimulus package worth 5 percent of its GDP and monetary easing policies. The IMF commented that Vietnam is of the fastest growing economies in Asia. In 2010, Vietnam posted a growth of 6.8 percent thanks to demand for both domestic and international growth. However, the expansion policy adopted during the crisis also has increased macroeconomic risks.

The State Bank of Vietnam set a ceiling on dollar deposit rates on April 13, restricting interest payments for individuals to 3 percent and those for non-credit institutions to 1 percent. Holdings of dong can attract returns of as much as 14 percent.

&ldquo;There is a big difference between what the regulations state and their actual implementation, hindering investors&rsquo; plans,&rdquo; Han Jae Jin, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce&rsquo;s foreign affairs board, said.

Arepresentative from Amcham, said at the workshop on the investment environment improvement workshop held in HCM City on April 26, that enterprises not only have to spend money, but also a lot of time to fulfill customs procedures. It takes exporters three or four days on average to get customs clearance. Especially, it would be a big trouble to enterprises, if they export perishable products and they have to wait for customs procedures.